


Forever

by TigerLily



Category: CSI: Miami, Highlander
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-26
Updated: 2012-01-26
Packaged: 2017-10-30 03:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/327294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLily/pseuds/TigerLily
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Horatio receives good news from an unexpected source.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever

**Author's Note:**

> Crossover with Highlander. The song is _Who Wants to Live Forever_ by Queen.

_There’s no time for us_   
_There’s no place for us_   
_What is this thing that builds our dreams yet slips away_   
_From us_

Horatio stood at his lover’s grave still trying to come to terms with his loss. Speed wasn’t supposed to die this young. He was supposed to grow old and die in Horatio’s arms.

The redhead sighed.

Speed had died in his arms.

All that blood seeping out of the tiny hole in his chest.

_Who wants to live forever?_   
_Who wants to live forever....?_

Horatio closed his eyes and tried to will the image away. His hand fiercely gripped the cane resting against his leg. It was an ever present symbol of his secret, his immortality.

Methos had joked during his last visit to Miami about a Caine needing a cane. Horatio had smirked, and then flipped his friend off the pier enjoying the sound of Methos’ swearing before the ocean swallowed it up with a splash.

That had been a pleasant time despite Methos' quiet insisting that Horatio tell Speed about being an Immortal. He had agreed to do so to get Methos off his back, but he never found the right time to tell Speed the truth.

A single tear slid down his face.

_There’s no chance for us_   
_It’s all decided for us_   
_This world has only one sweet moment set aside for us_

Horatio wiped away the tear and froze.

A tingling sensation raced along his spine.

Another Immortal was near.

The redhead eased the sword from its sheath. He was standing on holy ground. He knew no Immortal would break the rule of not fighting on holy ground, but too many years as a police officer had him hedging his bets.

“He’s not there,” the rich voice of Methos spoke, breaking on Horatio’s weary soul like an ocean wave caressing the shore.

“What do you mean?” Horatio asked, knowing it was a stupid question before it left his mouth. He turned to face his friend and mentor.

“Speed isn’t there,” Methos repeated. He stepped up and took the sword from the redhead’s loose grasp. “He’s waiting at your bungalow in the Keys.”

Questions flooded Horatio’s grief ravaged mind. They were written on his haggard face. He allowed the older Immortal to take and sheathed his sword.

“He was destined to be one of us, but your desire for him clouded your senses. Now, he is one of us, so take care of him or you will have to answer to his Watcher.”

“Alexx?” the redhead croaked.

“Yes,” Methos replied.

“Makes sense.” Horatio shook his head in an attempt to regain his composure. He suddenly had a clear idea what Methos had felt as he fell from the pier only to be swallowed up by cold, salt water. It wasn’t an enjoyable sensation.

“I knew it would once you got your head out of your ass,” Methos teased.

Horatio shot him an annoyed look before donning his sunglasses. “So who is with him?”

“Joe.”

“Good.” Horatio was glad that Joe was looking after his young lover and not Duncan. The Scot was too dour for his own good, and Speed hadn’t liked him the only time he had come to visit. Too similar had been Horatio’s thought at the time.

Horatio brushed past the older Immortal intent on getting to his lover before Joe bored the younger man with the history of Immortals. He wanted to tell Speed his story.

“Hey, Carrottop!” broke into his train of thought. He turned around to tell Methos off, but found himself catching his cane sword instead. He saluted the older Immortal before continuing on his journey.

_Who wants to live forever?_   
_Who wants to live forever?_

_Who dares to love forever?_   
_When love must die_

Horatio parked his car next to Joe’s rental. He spotted the Watcher studying him from the breezeway as he grabbed his duffel bag and cane. He slowly got out of the car.

“Hello, Joe,” he greeted the older man.

“Horatio,” Joe said, his voice gruff from too much talking. “He’s down on the beach.”

The redhead allowed Joe to take his stuff and limp back into the bungalow as he tried to work up the courage to face his lover.

The moment Horatio’s feet hit the warm sand he knew he would tell Speed the truth. He would leave nothing out and would pray that the younger man wouldn’t spurn him.

The redhead didn’t think he could lose Speed twice.

_But touch my tears with your lips_   
_Touch my world with your fingertips_   
_And we can have forever_   
_And we can love forever_   
_Forever is our today_

“Speed?” Horatio called out. He was only a few feet away from the brunette. He didn’t want to scare his lover anymore than he probably was.

Speed turned around and faced him.

“When were you going to tell me?”

“The night of the shootout,” Horatio lied. He removed his sunglasses and slipped them into his shirt pocket where they clinked against his cell phone. He tried to do his best and look his lover in the eye, but failed miserably. His plan had been to take what he could from Speed and move on when it became too obvious that he wasn’t aging. It had been his M.O. for centuries, but this time he had fallen hard.

“I doubt that,” the brunette said. “Anyway you didn’t have to. I overheard you and Methos during his last visit, so I did a little digging on my own. Joe paid me a visit a few weeks ago.”

“I see.” Horatio shook his head in bemusement. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Speed had discovered his secret. If he were to admit to himself, he wasn’t too surprised that Speed had found out. The brunette’s curiosity rivaled his own, which made him an excellent CSI. “How did that escape me?”

“You were busy with Belle King,” Speed explained.

“So what do we do now?”

“We kick Joe out and spend the weekend making slow and passionate love,” Speed suggested as he pulled the older man into his arms.

_Who wants to live forever?_   
_Who wants to live forever?_   
_Forever is our today_

The next morning Horatio woke with a sense of deep peace. A peace he hadn’t felt in at least a century. He could have spent the rest of the day holding Speed, but he had plans to set into motion before the brunette woke up.

_Who waits forever anyway?_

Horatio smiled at Speed as they stood on the beach and exchanged vows. He wasn’t going to lose him again, because Speed was his forever.

fin


End file.
